Titian: His Life

by Sheila Hale

The first definitive biography of the master painter in more than a century, Titian: His Life is being hailed as a "landmark achievement" for critically acclaimed author Sheila Hale ( Publishers Weekly ). Brilliant in its interpretation of the 16th-century master's paintings, this monumental biography of Titian draws on contemporary accounts and recent art historical research and scholarship, some of it previously unpublished, providing an unparalleled portrait of the artist, as well as a fascinating rendering of Venice as a center of culture, commerce, and power. Sheila Hale's Titian is destined to be this century's authoritative text on the life of greatest painter of the Italian High Renaissance.

Genres: Art, Biography, History, Italy, Nonfiction, Art History, Historical

864 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Czarny Pies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being in a churlish mood, I am giving Sheila Hale's "Titian" a mere two stars despite the fact that she conducted a great deal research for the project. Like most GR readers I found the work to be a tedious bore. Hale may lack flair as a writer but the root of the problem is the niggardly selection of illustrations. According to Hale, Titian produced 500 to 600 paintings of which roughly one half survived. Her book however contains only 32 illustrated plates. The reader simply gets lost reading Hale's comments on pictures which are not displayed.
The copyright of 23 of the illustrated works belong to the Bridgeman Art Library. The reader is left wondering if the publisher made some sort of a deal with Bridgeman and decide to spend very little money elsewhere. Three chapters in Hale's book bear the titles of works for which there are no colour plates: "Bacchus and Ariadne", "Venus and Adonis", and "Venus of Urbino" . The "Venus of Urbino" does appear in a bizarrely truncated form on the dust-Jacket. Among the many paintings discussed but not illustrated are: "Bacchanal of the Andrians", "The Rape of Lucretia (a.k.a "Tarquin and Lucretia"), "Portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti", "Portrait of Federico Gonzago," "Portrait of Cornelia Malaspina", "Portrait of Lavina as a Matron", "The Submission of Frederick Barbarossa", "The Supper at Emmaus", "Ecce Homo", "Death of St. Peter the Martyr" ' The Assumption (Assunta) of the Virgin", "The Annunciation (Church of San Salvador)", "Madonna and Child with Angels (fresco)" and finally "Fête champêtre" (which some scholars attribute instead to Giorigne). Google can pull up images of all these works, but the process of perpetually searching on the Internet interupts the reader's flow.
If one can forgive Hale and her publisher that the book is Hell to read, one then has to ask the question how good is the text. It does indeed have some merit. What Hale does very well is to tell the tale of a man of middle class origins who got wealthy pursuing a career as a painter in 16th century Venice. She describes admirably how Titian made contacts, pursued patrons and obtained commissions in an era when the Vatican, the Holy Roman Empire and the Italian city states were constantly waging war with each other. Hale also does a very good job describing Titan's rather bad relationships with his two sons Pomponio and Orazio.
Hale insists that although she is writing the biography of a painter that she is not an art historian. She endeavours to explain the consensus view of art historians rather than presenting any new or novel interpretations of her own. Titian was in her view the classical Venetian painter. His drawing skills were unremarkable but he was a great colourist. His religious and historical paintings were not as good as his portraits. Hale, however, does reveal a personal viewpoint in asserting that Titian was at his very best in portraying the erotic qualities of the female body. Her favorite work of Titians seems to be the "Venus of Urbino" which was the model for Manet's "Olympia". Again the reader is left wondering why there is no plate of the "Venus of Urbino" in Hale's book.
With occasional bright spots, Hale's "Titian" is a tiresome slog. While I do not regret having read it, I cannot think of anyone that I would recommend it to. Hale, herself, admits that she did not write it for art experts. Members of the general public would expect more illustrations and a livelier narrative.

[Barksdale Penick · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous book. I read it in an unusual fashion over perhaps a three year period. Whenever I found myself bereft at the end of a book I loved, or stuck on the Metro unexpectedly, or after hours on the airplane when I had gone through everything else I had brought, I would turn to Titian's life. The historical research is extraordinary, with the ebb and flow of the fortunes of the Most Serene Republic as the backdrop for the very long life of Titian. Since the kings of Spain were his greatest patrons, the book also helped me to appreciate the era of Spanish domination over Europe and indeed the entire Western world.

I read this book on a Kindle, which meant there were no illustrations of the many paintings described by the author. It seems unthinkable that a book about a painter could be worth reading without seeing his work, and I am sure it would have been better to always have a computer handy to see the picture the author was discussing, as I did on occasion, but that did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the description of his development as a painter long into old age. Even the constant demands for money, which seems to be by far the most common topic in Titian's letters, is fascinating because he was usually writing to the king of Spain. Despite being the most powerful ruler in the Western world, the king's wishes were regularly ignored by the royal bureaucracy.

I am sure that an art historian with deeper knowledge than me would find the book enthralling in ways that I cannot appreciate. but this was a wonderful reading experience for me.

[Saïdeh Pakravan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too long, too detailed. And very little about Titian the man. His personal life, likes and dislikes, are barely mentioned, where every detail of every transaction, of every payment by every sponsor, is described at length. A lot of repetitive material that eventually lulls the reader to boredom without having at all touched the genius of one of the greatest artists of all time. What a disappointment (and what a heavy book!)

[David Samuels · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title should be "Titian: His Life & The Lives of Everyone Associated with Him." About 70% of this 800 page doorstop cover ancillary characters in Titian's life. The historian strikes me as the sort of person who highlights every line in a book

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in middle and loving it. The book is densely packed with details Titian, his family, friends, clients and, more important, the world he inhabited. Excellent but slow because of richness of the descriptions. Recommended for anyone who loves Venice, Italy and art.
Finished...very satisfying.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with many of the reviewers below that the endless details have the strange effect that you are left --after 700 pages!!-- of not understanding the artist whatsoever. That said, it is still, as the back cover states: a landmark achievement! In addition to the over-attention to details at the expense of narrative, the writing style has a lot in common with something you might see in an encyclopedia. In fact, it was as if a long article in the old Encyclopedia Brittanica had spun into the main text--every last footnote and hyperlink-- to make a kind of encyclopedia of Titian. In that sense it is a magnificent reference. And yet, sadly, the index was awful and painting not at all easily found unless you know where the pictures are kept. Many noted the atrocious illustrations--agree. Also, because there is hardly any art historical interpretation, it leaves you guessing...

Comparing it to Mark Hudson's FANTASTIC Titian's Last Years, I would say the Hudson's book, while littered with small mistakes, is something that will leave you with a great idea of the artist--both the man and his art--his significance. That really is one of the best art books I have ever read and shows maybe that a non-specialist approach is not a bad thing when you are doing sweeping biographies... because 700 pages later, I really didn't feel Hale's book delivered.

I will put it in the reference part of my library though--too bad the index is so lame and the publisher did such a lousy job with the illustrations.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instead of being titled "Titian: His Life" this book should have been called "Titian: Just About Everything that Happened in Europe During His Life". I think a good biography should give the reader a sense of time and place, an understanding of the world that the subject lived in, but this one went too far in that direction. The book was at its best when the focus was on Titian and his art, although it would have been better if the color plates were in some kind of order and included more examples of extant works that author Sheila Hale described. The discussions of Titian's technique, the way the Venetian approach to painting differed from how it was done in Florence, and the examination of how Titian's work became more "impressionistic" in his later years were all very interesting.

But...

Hale included far too many details about 16th Century European war and politics. It's true that the men and women who held power in Europe during that era were often patrons of the arts, and provided the source for much of Titians income and many of his commissions, but the book too frequently deviated from its subject. It ran 736 pages, but would have been far better if that count was reduced to somewhere under 500 pages. Ultimately, this book wasn't the book I hoped it would be.

[Rachel Halliburton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing level of detail, tellingly deployed. A great way to lose yourself in 16th century Venice, and to find out about the political intrigues of Titian's patrons that eventually spanned the globe.

[Teresa]

Inspiration to read: NYTBR june 1 2014 Alan Furst says he's reading this, its full of dense history of Venice in16th century. "Kings, doges, emperors,popes, Ottoman invasions, the Medicis".

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Titian has two defining traits: talent and greed. We know this because his only enduring legacies are the few hundred remarkable paintings that haven't been lost in fires and the countless nagging letters he sent to his patrons pleading for money. Besides that, there's nothing really there. He had famous friends and rivals, lived in the most glorious city of the high renaissance (sorry Florence...), and served the great power brokers of sixteenth century Europe, yet none of them have anything to say about the guy beyond the fact that the greedy bastard could paint. You'd think this would get boring-- a lot of people complain this book's too long-- but it's easily one of the most engrossing biographies I've ever read.

At its core, Sheila Hale has written a lush chronology of all of Titian's major (and many of his minor) works, but scattered between the canvases are:
-A rich and baudy social history of Venice
-Deep sketches of fellow artists, including the Bellini Brothers, Giorgione, Giulio Romano, Jacopo Sansovino, Michelangelo, del Piombo, Vasari, Veronese, and Tintoretto
-A life of Pietro Aretino, the pansexual hypeman who pretty much steals the show for the middle three hundred pages...
-A pope by pope account of the intrigues of papal succession
-A lucid telling of the messy consolidation and dissipation of the Holy Roman Empire
-The squabbling and plotting of minor dukes
-Constant speculation about painterly attribution
-A digest of the warring art historical perspectives on Titian's genius

Could some of this be filler? Sure. Did I mind? Not this deep into a pandemic where I've wanted nothing more than to escape abroad. Instead, for the past five weeks, I've let Sheila Hale transport more to Rome, Ferrara, Mantua, Bologna, Augsburg, the Tyrolean Alps, Madrid, and a Venice that is so vividly and comprehensively described that I can close my eyes and be there instead of here. My only hope is that Hale has another one of these behemoths in the works-- if she's taking requests, would love one on Rubens, Palladio, or Velazquez.

[John Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started and finished strong; the last 250 pages were much easier to read. Maybe that’s just where I was able to acclimate and adjust my expectations, as I originally picked this book out to supplement my time during my weekly trips to the National Gallery of Art in DC and find a book rich in art analysis. This did not achieve that for me as Hale makes clear she is not an art historian. I think this book would have been easier to approach if the title was more accurate, maybe “Titian: His Life AND Times”.

Much of the text is dedicated to the surrounding events of Titian’s life. The context was a lot. It’s certainly an easy book to get tired with, as there is no shortage of repetitive passages dedicated to mundane affairs like elaborating on each of Titian’s pleas to his patrons to pay him. Additionally, the structure of the chapters within the sections seems a bit ‘jumpy’ as Hale sometimes leap forward and back in years.

However, there was a lot of positives as well. The art analysis that is there is quite interesting, and when Hale does occasionally put forth her own analysis it is quite good and surprising funny at times (pg. 676). She is clearly incredibly knowledgeable and well researched. The prose is straightforward, there are plenty of insightful paragraphs and excerpts of Titian’s correspondence with his colleagues, friends, family, and patrons shed valuable insight on Titian’s life. The focus early on of Titian’s studio practice and artistic method was most helpful for me: working from wooden lay figures, plaster and wax models, as well as from live models (the first artist to use naked women models); working to the accompaniment of music, or listening to the reading of many fine works; the thrifty habit of reusing the supports of discarded paintings; his messy habit of using his fingers — all these contributing to him being the Renaissance exemplar of sprezzatura (the art of concealing the effort that goes into art).

Not a book I’d recommend per se, but glad I’ve read it - this is a book I will return to for reference.

[Steve Courson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s more here about Venice than Titian, but that’s to be expected since Titian, while a great painter, couldn’t write very well so had others do it for him and evidently not very often. Writing his biography is a mountain to climb with so sparse primary sources. The author goes into great detail on the individual paintings, then ruined the experience by not including an image of the painting, or if it happened to be included, it’s not referenced with a number so the reader gets to spend time thumbing through the included photos to see if it’s included. If not, spend more time looking for it on Google. I guess since I’m not painting masterpieces I should have the time. Seriously? I enjoyed the book in spite of this MAJOR flaw. The book could have been Hale’s masterpiece, but she failed in her final brushstrokes. It’s a book about art. Include the art. I still enjoyed the read.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see that many readers found this 700-page biography too richly detailed, but I ate it up. Sixteenth century politics figures in the Lymond Chronicles, so I was fascinated to encounter Venice at the peak of its powers, along with popes, doges, fellow artists and family members. With my phone by my side to look up the paintings (a few dozen are reproduced, but many more are discussed), I gained an appreciation of Titian that was sparked by the exhibit of his poesie paintings at the Gardner Museum last month. I also loved that Hale was so enchanted by Titian's friend Aretino that she devotes many pages to this wit, social climber, pornographer and writer. Given the sparse details about Titian's personal life, she does a wonderful job of presenting an artist who was also a businessman, a bad father (poor Pomponio), a good friend and a devoted Venetian. Reading a chapter a day was a great way to start my day over the last several months.

[James Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. Very long (almost 750 pages of text) Hale didn't have that much to say about Titian and his art so she pads it out with superficial history of Europe in the 16th century, most of which had little or nothing to do with Titian. (If you want a clear history of Charles V and/or the Holy Roman Empire and the Hapsburgs I recommend books on those subjects, not Hale's ch0pped up mess.) Moreover, the discussions of Titian's art are unclear not least because of the hundreds of paintings by the master there are only a couple of dozen plates (and strangely, just two black and white imagesI which are in no particular order and hard to fit in with the text. I found I had to keep an iPad next to to me while I read so I could look for the paintings online but it made for a very choppy read. Thus between only half of the book being about Titian and that being less than clear, I struggled to finish Hale's book.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than a biography of Titian-- it's a picture of his entire world. Hale covers history, sociology, the biographies of many people who were important in Titian's life, cultural life, economic life, other artists, extended family, religion and religious politics, architecture and much more -- Titian's whole universe. It's a little exhausting but rich and rewarding, and strangely joyous. Books on artists should not be allowed to refer to art works that are not illustrated, but if you don't mind stopping to google about once a page, it's bearable. Ms. Hale should not be required to ever write another book in her lifetime-- this book is a huge achievement.

[Stephen Morrissey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheila Hale's "Titian: His Life" is a magnificent and comprehensive portrait of one of the most extraordinary artists of the Renaissance, or any, period. From Titian Vecellio's humble beginnings in the mountains and trees of Cadore, Hale exhaustively traces the life and times of the artist known as Titian, wrapping the narrative within the strands of military, political, religious, and cultural history of the 1500s.

For lovers of art and history, there is no better book to delve into the many fascinating details of Renaissance art.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent biography of Titian, remarkably easy to read and follow. While Sheila Hale provides details on Titian's painting techniques and his body of work, much more of the book is about the context in which he was painting. And what an extraordinary time he was living in: Venice at the peak of its glory, Emperor Charles V as his main patron, the reformation and counter-reformation unfurling all over Europe, wars, plagues, etc.

[Sembray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kind of feel that they should make the subtitle more prominent, because at times this reads more like a history of Renaissance Europe and entire pages go by without the main man himself even being mentioned. However, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this well-researched, erudite and informative account of in my opinion probably the greatest ever to pick up a paintbrush and the momentous circumstances that he lived through.

[Richard Preuhs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult to read with large number of characters. Doesn't give much insight into Titian's inner thoughts and philosophy because he was a private individual and Arentino did his writing for him. However very detailed and captivating because he lived in interesting times.

[Marijean Miyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than Titian: His Life, the title should be A Comprehensive History of the 16th Century!!! Always one to enjoy a good history book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive guide to Titian's life. I have it in hardcover and Kindle.

[Melody Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book, pity the pleasure is a bit spoiled by the frustrating way the images are organised. They are not in any sort of order or numbered.

Note to the editor: For the way it should be done please check Matisse by Hillary Spurling.

[Marvin Goodman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof, I'm sorry to give this a two-star review, because it's clearly been impeccably researched and laboriously crafted by the author. But two stars is "okay" in this rating system, and that's about as good a review as I can muster, philistine that I am.
Why just "okay" despite acknowledging the level of research behind it and the detail present? Because, as a casual reader who isn't an art historian, there was simply TOO much detail. It's a voluminous book, this one, and if you're a person who feels compelled to finish books that you start, it's quite an investment. I could have gained the same appreciation for Titian and his times in half the length. The many details about projects, contracts and relationships are a testament to the research, but they felt more appropriate for a thesis than for a book for the masses.
Even if I had a snappier mind and could read faster, and zip through the details a bit more quickly, there was also an underlying thread throughout this book that made me cringe every time I encountered it, and that happened over, and over, and over again. I'm referring to Titian's endless supplications to various benefactors, to create a sort of endowment for his family. Betcha you didn't see THIS parallel coming, but it's the same thing that ruined Rudyard Kipling's seminal novel Kim. The title character's endless begging ruined the story for me, probably because I've got some sort of ridiculously stubborn beliefs on self-sufficiency. Maybe this wouldn't wreck the story for you the way it did for me, but I would have been happy to have the benefactor system explained to me at the outset, without having to endure a near constant undercurrent of this throughout some 700 pages of this book.

[Joseph Petrillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really several books in one. It is, of course, a biography of Titian's life, painstakingly researched from the sketchy and dispersed written record. It is also an analysis of Titian's art and its development, from the surviving examples. It includes a well-written description of the contemporaneous history, with special emphasis on the lives of Titian's royal patrons, especially Charles V and Phillip II. And it provides a thorough description of the sometimes baffling world of Venice and the neighboring Veneto, where Titian was born and where he maintained lifelong family ties. In short, it was a rich and rewarding read. One word of advice: If you read it on a Kindle, as I did, have a computer or tablet handy to view images of the paintings the author discusses. (I was fortunate to be able to see the Titians in the National Gallery of Art in DC, including the visiting Danaë from the Capodimonte museum in Naples).

[Alina Manevskaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensive analysis of Titian's artistic output, based on close examination of historical, social and political context. I was amazed by the quality of research, executed by Sheila Hale, particularly in relation to those artistic creations that have been either lost or destroyed. This is an ideal book for art historians. However, if you don't want to be overwhelmed by the quality of historical analysis, have your pen ready and be prepared to write down a summary of important facts, associated with the sixteenth-century Europe.

[Karlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not really a biography but a history of Europe during Titian's life. Henry the 8th had nothing to do with the artist, but I learned some points about his problems with the other powers in Europe. It was interesting sometimes but much too long. The plates are not numbered so the reader can find the painting discussed in the text. He lived a long life and painted into his old age with enthusiasm for new ideas. Had we not spent a month in Venice this spring, I would not have read this 736 page book.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful! impeccable research. Hale not only writes about Titian and his life and paintings but the history of his time, his famous patronages and the Most Serene Republic, Venice. Be forewarned though, this is not a book to race through but to savor. My only complaint is that I wish there were more photos of his work that she writes about. ( I discovered wiki paintings that helped) Highly recommend.

[Maribeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful example of research and scholarship but I would agree with some other reviewers that there was more than needed on the details of transactions, trips, family business et cetera. But it did give a truly full and not romanticized picture of Titian and the world in which he so successfully operated.

[Eliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this gave a very interesting view of a troubled time, but I thought that the way the plates were laid out was very annoying. They were not in any sort of order, and trying to find one when the author was describing a painting was frustrating. Also, for a book with so many descriptions of paintings, it had way too few plates.

[Kurishin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sociological and historical aspects of the book dominate the artistic. I wanted to know what was behind Titian's genius. Was that realistic? Hale kept my attention because I was left with some understanding of Venice's history and daily life. Titian's genius? We can't explain the modern versions.